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By Jennifer Vagios, R.D.
APOGEE’s Dietitian

When clients tell me they want a more healthful diet, but aren’t sure how to go about it, I always ask, “Are you eating your greens?”

By greens, I mean leafy vegetables such as kale and Swiss chard that thrive in cooler temperatures. These tasty veggies add nutrition to any meal—try to include them in your diet three to five times a week. My favorites are kale and Swiss chard; collard and mustard greens are also nutritious and easy to prepare.  I shred greens and add them to soups, stews, salads, pasta sauces and omelets.

Rich Sources
The deep green color of kale and Swiss chard is one clue that their thick leaves are packed with nutrients: These vegetables are excellent sources of vitamin A, vitamin C and manganese; both also contain vitamin K, magnesium, potassium, iron, vitamin E and dietary fiber, with Swiss chard delivering more of these nutrients. In fact, there’s so much vitamin K in Swiss chard that people using blood thinners such as Coumadin should check with their doctor before making it part of their regular diet. Swiss chard also contains the phytonutrient anthocyan, which has given this vegetable bragging rights to possibly protect against digestive tract cancers. All winter greens are a very good source of calcium.

Shop for Fresh
At the store, choose greens that have a deep, dark color, without wilting and discoloration. Store them with a damp paper towel in a plastic bag in the fridge and wash in cold water before using; I use a salad spinner.

Chop
You’ll be able to use the celery-like stem of Swiss Chard—just chop or shred it along with the leaves. If your kale has a thick center rib, you may want to remove it with two swipes of a knife before slicing the leaves into ribbons or shredding them by hand.

Sauté or Steam
As well as tossing them raw into soups, stews, sauces and omelets, you can sauté greens to use them as a side dish. Start with eight cups of chopped or shredded greens, 1/2 cup of water and minced garlic to your taste. Saute the garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil to soften it, then add the greens and water. Stir, cover and cook until wilted. Or steam your greens, then top them with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Make enough for two meals and use the leftovers in an omelet, sauce or even a burrito!

by Woodson Merrell, M.D.
APOGEE Integrative Health Advisor

Just last month a new study revealed a link between drinking green tea and a lower incidence of depression in elderly people. Researchers haven’t identified which natural compound in green tea might be responsible and it’s a preliminary study, but there’s already much we do know about green tea. It’s one of the “power foods” I recommend in the 21-day program for optimal energy in my book Power Up (previously titled The Source) because of how it acts on your body and brain to calm, protect, and detoxify. Here are the details.

Calm: You’ll get a gentle lift from green tea because it has less caffeine than coffee (10-30 milligrams vs. 100-150). But green tea also contains natural compounds that are calming, specifically the amino acid theanine. This compound raises the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain that create good feelings and blocks the receptors for other chemicals that excite the nervous system. In studies, theanine has also been shown to support the immune system and calm the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in a lower heart rate.

Protect: All plants contain antioxidants that prevent damage to cells from free radicals, damaging molecules produced by a variety of sources—from exercise to environmental toxins. Green tea is one of the best sources of catechins, some of nature’s most potent antioxidants. Not only do antioxidants help prevent damage—protecting everything from your arteries to your DNA—but catechins may also help keep your metabolism working at a high level, potentially releasing more energy from fat.

Detoxify: Your body works hard to rid itself of toxins and you’ll have more energy if you help—that’s why detox is a one of the six steps I recommend to boost vitality. Green tea is especially useful as detoxifier: it not only helps break down toxins, a process known as Phase I detox, but green tea is unique in that it also helps transform the toxins so they can be excreted, a process known as Phase II detox.

Green tea retains its bright color and nutritious value because it’s not aged or fermented, as oolong and other teas are. Choose bagged or loose leaves that create a green brew when steeped, not brown—the tea’s color is an indicator of quality. If you want a beverage with virtually no caffeine, splash hot water over soak the leaves in hot water, let it sit for just one minute, then discard the water—most all the caffeine will go with it. Now add more water and steep the tea as you normally would: the theanine and catechins are there, along with the flavor and pleasure of holding, inhaling and drinking a hot beverage.

Pilates is an important part of a wellness regimen. If you want to understand why, become familiar with Joseph Pilates, the man who created the system of exercises now known throughout the world as the Pilates Method.

Pilates was a German-born refugee who had a strong focus throughout his life: to discover the potential of every human body. From an early age, Pilates was interested in helping injured and chronically ill people become healthier. He studied yogic breathing to help his own asthma and used his knowledge of movement disciplines to create healing exercises for bedridden refugees during World War II. Pilates believed movement was healing.

Pilates went on to apply his method to top dancers and Hollywood stars. But he never lost interest in improving the lives of average people and revealing the potential in every body.

To pique interest in Joseph Pilates, we’ve been running a quiz on the APOGEE Facebook page. If you missed it, here are the questions and answers.

1. Finish this quote from Joseph Pilates: “One hour ___ ___ ___!”  Hit the shower!
2. Joseph Pilates was born in what town, country & year? Pilates was born in Monchengladbach, Germany in 1880.
3. Where did Joseph Pilates get the idea to use springs as resistance? During World War I, Pilates interned, along with other German nationals, on the Isle of Man at a camp where he worked with many internees who suffered from wartime diseases. He took bed springs from the beds and rigged them so that those who were bedridden could rehabilitate by strengthening their bodies against the resistance of the springs.
4. Joseph Pilates’ mother was a __ and his father was a __ __ __.  Pilates’  father was a prize-winning gymnast of Greek ancestry, and his German born mother worked as a naturopath who believed in the philosophy of stimulating the body to heal itself.
5.  What was the original name of Joseph Pilates’ exercise method? Contrology.
6. Where in Massachusetts, what and to whom did Joseph Pilates teach? Pilates taught mat work to young dancers at Jacob’s Pillow in Becket,  Massachusetts.
7. Where did Joseph Pilates meet his wife? Pilates met Clara on the boat crossing the Atlantic to New York.
8, What is the cornerstone of Joseph Pilates’ method? Movement is healing.
8. Name five Pilates elders and explain who they are. The Pilates elders are students who were taught by Joseph Pilates himself and have continued to teach and open their own studios. Clara Pilates, Romana Kryzanowska, Robert Fitizgerald, Ron Fletcher, Mary Bowen, Eve Gentry, Kathy Grant, Lolita San Miguel, Mary Pilates, and Carola Trier are only some of the elders.

10. Supply the four missing words from this Joseph Pilates quote: , You are only as young as __ __ __ __. Your spine is flexible!

Related links:
Find a Pilates class in Westchester

Learn more about Pilates and how APOGEE does Pilates:
How Pilates heals “from the inside out”
Video of The Hundred, one exericse at the core of Pilates
The seven principles of Pilates
Comparing Pilates mat to apparatus
How Pilates and yoga complement each other
Pilates breathing
Repetitions during a Pilates routine
Pilates and pregnancy

When Judith Gerst started training at APOGEE Bedford Hills a year ago, she hoped that regular cardiovascular training and work with weights would help maintain the strength of her bones. Gerst says, “In 1996 I was diagnosed with osteoporosis,”  or dangerously thin bones. Her doctor prescribed a drug, Fosamax, which treats osteoporosis. Doctors also recommend weight-bearing exercise to make her bones more dense.

With her skeleton in mind, Gerst started training three times a week with Lynn Ozzello, a personal trainer at APOGEE Bedford Hills. Now the 67-year-old Gerst has progressed to doing weighted lunges, explosive moves with a heavy medicine ball, squats using the Smith machine and upper-body work on the Gravitron. “I got so much stronger and my balance improved, I no longer experience back pain,” Gerst says. She is able to lift her 4-year-old and 18-month-old grandchildren with ease. “This is functional—it’s not just for looks, it’s for health,” Gerst says. “It’s definitely made a difference in my daily life.”

Of course, Gerst was hoping to slow or even halt her bone loss and a recent visit to her doctor showed something completely unexpected: “The osteoporosis was gone,” Gerst says. Her bone density had improved so much that she was out of that dangerous category altogether and her doctor told her she can take a break from the medication (she will need to test her bone density twice a year). With improved strength and balance from the personal training, Gerst moves with confidence—she knows she’s strong, inside and out.

by Deborah Slade, APOGEE Pilates Instructor

Joseph Pilates described breathing as “the first act of life.”  In his book Return to Life through Contrology he wrote, “Above all, learn how to breathe.” It sounds simple enough, since breathing is automatic. But as result of our relatively sedentary lifestyles most of us take shallow breaths—often at less than half our lung capacities. The result is low stamina, poor posture and tense, unstable muscles that cannot perform optimally. Breathing correctly oxygenates the blood and nourishes the cells while eliminating toxins, improving circulation, alleviating stress, and rejuvenating the spirit.

In Pilates, breathing is considered the essential link between the mind and body and the foundation for all movement. Coordinating exercises with patterns of inhaling and exhaling not only supports the movement but also aids in concentration, control, and flow—three other fundamental principles of the method.

It’s not easy to breathe while moving. In fact, most of us hold our breath when facing difficult tasks. But breathing properly while keeping your abs “scooped” will allow you to perform your Pilates exercises with greater ease and find your workout even more satisfying.

Pilates exercises not only require that you inhale and exhale fully—drawing in the optimal amount of fresh air and squeezing every bit of stale air out of your lungs—but that you do it in a very specific way. Joe Pilates adapted his technique from yoga, calling it posterior lateral breathing. It involves taking long deep breaths in through the nose that expand the back and the ribs laterally (left and right) and then emptying the lungs forcefully and thoroughly, causing the abdominals to contract. This technique enhances lung function, stabilizes the torso, lengthens the spine, and maintains abdominal recruitment throughout an exercise. Practice this accordion exercise below as often as possible you’ll be soon be breathing deeply.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor and hip-distance apart. Your spine should be neutral—relaxed into the mat honoring its natural curves.

2. Place your hands on either side of the rib cage as though you were holding on to an accordion—fingers toward your breastbone, thumbs to the back.

3. Inhale deeply, concentrating on broadening your lower back and filling your lungs to capacity. Feel your ribs expand to the left and right and your fingertips draw away from one another.

4. Exhale fully, feeling your fingers draw back together and pulling your navel toward the spine.